Castaway Found
by Thomas Mc
Summary: On a R&R trip back home to Earth Alex Rogan notices a disturbing similarity between the reclusive Cutanian race and the descriptions of the Central Park Creature of New York urban legend. This is an A/U story and a sequel to 'Castaway'.
1. Chapter 1

**Castaway Found**  
><em>By Thomas Mc<em>**  
><strong>

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><p><strong><em>Authors Notes :<em>**_ This is an 'alternate reality (A/U)' story and a _sequel to 'Castaway'._ It is also a 'The Last Starfighter' crossover. . . - On a R&R trip back home to Earth Alex Rogan notices a disturbing similarity between the reclusive Cutanian race and the popular descriptions of the Central Park Creature of New York urban legend._

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<br>**

Alex Rogan had been the Supreme Commander of the Star Legion for a bit over eight years yet every day still seemed to present him with something new that he had never dreamed could exist. Just this morning, he had spent meeting the newest batch of recruits to the Legion and had encountered a representative of a race that looked like a cross between a carrot with six eyes and an octopus. Of course the biggest surprise was seeing his own little brother, Lewis, among the new recruits. He had a sneaking suspicion that he had Centauri to thank for the presence of his little brother.

Counting himself, that would make two Starfighters recruited from a planet that wasn't even aware of the Star League's existence yet. Earth was still considered too primitive and warlike to be invited into the Star League. In fact Earth currently enjoyed 'Protected Potential' status which meant that other advanced races were forbidden to have any contact with it until it was deemed advanced enough to be invited to join the Star League. That evening he had gone home and informed Maggie of the appearance of his brother among the new recruits. While eating dinner, they discussed inviting Louis over as soon as he finished his basic training.

After dinner while reading some of the older Star Legion reports, Alex glanced over at his wife Maggie playing with their two children, (seven year old Stephen, and five year old Veronica) and smiled. The Star League was a wonderful place to raise children but he knew that eventually he would have to take them back home to Earth if they were ever to have a chance to have families of their own. Maggie looked up at him and smiled back then returned her attention to their kids.

Alex went back to his reports. He had recently set himself the goal of learning the history of the Star Legion and its heroes. There were a lot of great stories to be found there. Both of his children loved it when told them some of those stories at bedtime. Their favorite story however was still the story of how their father became the leader of the Star Legion.

He finished the current report and went on to the next one. He looked at the date code at the top of the report and did a little mental calculation. This one was from about thirty-seven years ago. That would make it just about when the Gunstars were first introduced. That ship had changed the face of space warfare and made the Star League undefeatable. Eight years ago he and his navigator Grig in a single Gunstar Mark II had taken out the entire Kodan invasion fleet. Two years ago the first Gunstar Mark III, based on many of his recommended improvements, had rolled of the line. Now eighty percent of the Gunstars in the fleet were Mark IIIs.

Alex set his memories aside and turned his attention back to the report. This one was about Zamiis and Zoria of the Cutahnian race. Another race that he had never seen or heard of. According to the report they were the only two of their race ever to serve in the Legion. In the three short years that they had served with great distinction in the Legion they had racked up a very impressive list of exploits. At the beginning of their fourth year they had been assigned a new Gunstar from the first production run. For about two months they had distinguished themselves in five separate encounters. Then on a supposedly routine escort mission they had been caught by surprise and destroyed.

Alex remembered once shortly after the birth of Stephen, Grig had commented that his and Grig's record had surpassed even Zamiis & Zoria. Now he finally understood what Grig had meant and how much of an accomplishment it had been.

Alex turned to the last page and stared at the pictures at the top of the personal information sheet. There was something about their appearance that seemed vaguely familiar. It would be quite accurate to describe them as lion-men. He read down further and made another interesting discovery. It turned out that the father of Zamiis was the current Cutahnian Ambassador.

Alex put the report down when Maggie reminded him that it was time for the children to go to bed. He herded them into their bedroom and as they prepared for bed he told them a story taken from the report on Zamiis and Zoria.

That night as they lay in bed Alex and Maggie talked about Earth and their plans for a visit to their home planet next month. "Have you decided where you want to go while we're there?" Alex asked.

Maggie thought a moment then responded. "I think I want to see New York again, maybe take in a Broadway play and explore Central Park. I had so much fun there last year."

Alex thought it sounded like a good idea.

~ x x x x x ~

Alex thought that Zadoranis, the Cutahnian Ambassador, looked so very regal with his leonine features and his thick snow white mane. This had been the Ambassador's first visit to the headquarters of the Star Legion in thirty-four years and he had insisted on meeting the legendary Alex Rogan in person.

Zadoranis mentioned that his son had served in the Legion and Alex remarked that he had read about the exploits of Zamiis and Zoria. They ended up spending the next hour and a half talking about the Ambassador's son and daughter-in-law.

Eventually Ambassador Zadoranis had to leave for a major diplomatic meeting with the other members of the Star League. He thanked Alex for his time and interesting conversation then he departed.

~ x x x x x ~

As soon as they arrived on Earth, Alex and Maggie stopped first at his mother's trailer park. Stephen and Veronica both cried out in delight as they rushed into their grandmother's waiting arms. They spent two days with his mother catching up and seeing the other long time residents of the trailer park.

The children were looking forward to spending a week with their grandmother as well as being able to play with Uncle and Aunt Beta while Alex and Maggie went to New York. Uncle Beta and Aunt Beta were both top of the line beta units (humanoid robots) that looked and acted more or less like Alex and Maggie in order to cover their absence from Earth. Most of the long time residents knew all about Alex and Maggie but the Beta units did keep the authorities from noticing their absence. The beta units also were very helpful to Alex's mother and Maggie's grandmother.

After two days Alex and Maggie headed off to New York leaving their children in his mother's care.

~ x x x x x ~

Alex and Maggie were enjoying a romantic ride through Central Park in a horse drawn carriage. The driver pointed at the carrousel. "One of the oldest reported sightings of the Central Park Creature was right over there." Alex made a derisive snort. This was the third time they had heard that particular urban legend mentioned during their visit to New York. The driver continued. "I know you don't believe, but I tell you the creature does exist. I saw it once with my own eyes."

Maggie perked up. She found urban legends fascinating. "You actually saw it? What did it look like?"

The driver grinned over his shoulder at her. "It was a couple of hours after dark. I had just dropped off my last fare of the day and was headed back to put up my horse for the night when I saw this couple walking through the park. The woman was very pretty and the man was running to catch up with her. A bunch of gang members cornered them and I thought they were in real trouble when the Creature came bounding out of the shadows roaring like a lion at the same time that some female detective came in from the other direction. It was incredible. He was built like a man but he had the face of a lion." The driver was talking over his shoulder without really looking at them so he missed the surprised look on Alex's face but Maggie did see it. The driver continued. "I only saw the Creature for a minute but I will never forget what I saw."

The drivers description had sounded so much like a description of Ambassador Zadoranis that Alex couldn't help but wonder if there was a connection. Could there be a Cutahnian running around loose in the Central Park Area? If so, was it an unauthorized intrusion on a restricted world or possibly a castaway.

~ o ~

That evening after they returned to their hotel room Maggie turned to him in curiosity. "Why did you get so rattled when that buggy driver described the Central Park Creature to you?" She had her suspicions.

Alex replied as he dug through his luggage. "That description is an almost perfect match to a very reclusive Star League race called the Cutahnian. Ah, here it is." He pulled out a multi-band radio that he always carried with him. Unlike the typical run-of-the-mill multi-band radio, this unit could receive frequencies that earth science couldn't even detect yet. "Now let's see what we can see." He turned on the receiver and selected a band. He frowned as continuing adjustment only produced static. Finally he sighed. "Well it was worth a try."

"Maybe the similarity of description is just a coincidence." She remarked sympathetically.

"You're probably right . . ." He frowned again remembering the Ambassador and the story of his son. "Could it be? . . . Naw, it's too absurd . . . isn't it?" He again changed the band, setting it for a frequency that was a closely guarded secret, and this time was rewarded with silence broken by occasional fits of static and one irregular sick sounding beep. With a stunned look on his face Alex shut off his receiver. He looked up at Maggie as he spoke. "There's a disabled Gunstar somewhere close by. The signal is very weak and erratic but it is definitely a Gunstar emergency beacon carrier wave."

As far as Alex knew there were no unaccounted for Gunstars. He sent a message to Grig asking if there were any records of missing Gunstars.

A couple of hours latter Grig reported back that he could only find two reports of missing Gunstars. One was a twelve year old report of a missing ship that was thought to have fallen into a star and therefore was never found. The other was the Gunstar of Zamiis and Zoria. They found a debris field where the ship disappeared but there was not enough material to account for the entire mass of a Gunstar so though it was publicly listed as destroyed the internal Legion records listed its final dispensation as uncertain / possibly MIA.

After a few moments of contemplation Alex responded. "Grig I need you to report to the Star Legion headquarters that I have located the possible remains of a Gunstar here on Earth and to send a recovery team. Then I want you to contact Ambassador Zadoranis, and inform him that there is a **very** **remote** chance that I may have found either his son or his son's mate here on Earth."

That night he went to bed his mind whirling with the possibilities. The next morning he was told that the recovery team was on its way and they made plans to meet after dark on the north side of the Turtle Pond. Alex had himself and Maggie shifted to a larger four bedroom suite so that they would be able to host whoever showed up.

~ o ~

Alex was shifting nervously as he watched a group of young people passing near his position. He knew that Grig and Centauri were coming but that was all. He noticed three figures approaching his position and tensed up as he prepared for any eventuality. He relaxed somewhat though he was very surprised when he recognized his little brother Louis. The second figure he soon recognized as Centauri's human disguise. The third figure however was heavily cloaked and hooded.

As they approached the third figure glanced quickly around then pushed back his hood. It was Ambassador Zadoranis in person. Alex was stunned. Zadoranis stepped forward his smile exposing his fangs. "It is a pleasure to see you again Alex Rogan." As Alex continued to stare at him in surprise he continued. "I do not know why you are so surprised to see me here. Did you think I would not come if there was even the slightest chance that Zamiis or Zoria might still be alive and trapped here on this planet?"

Alex finally responded to the ambassador. "I understand but you realize that such a possibility is very remote." He glanced at the rest. "Even if it is their ship, that doesn't mean that either of them is still alive."

Zadoranis nodded. "Still it is a possibility; therefore I had to come." He cocked his head. "Just before you arrived I detected a presence from somewhere in the city. It was strong. It could have been one of them."

~ o ~

The twins were asleep in their beds, and Vincent and Catherine were relaxing in their rooftop garden celebrating. Doctor Peter Alcott had just verified what they already knew – Catherine was pregnant again. Tomorrow Catherine would break the news to Joe and Sammy at lunch. Just forty minutes ago they had seen a falling star shoot across the sky and they had both made wishes. Catherine had wished for another boy just like his father and older brother. Vincent had wished that some day he would be able to tell his children where he and they came from.

Vincent suddenly became very alert. Catherine clearly felt his _surprise_ and _uncertainty_. "What is it Vincent?" Catherine asked.

Vincent shook his head. "I'm not really sure." He shrugged. "I thought for a moment that I was sensing one of the twins but it was . . . different." He shrugged. "Whatever it was, it's gone now."

Catherine placed her hand over her belly. "You were probably just feeling junior here." She smiled up at him. "I remember how surprised you were the first time you sensed the twins. You didn't know where it was coming from."

Vincent shook his head. "No . . . this was different. I was aware of the baby's presence as well so I know it wasn't that. It was something else and I felt it sensing me during that short contact."

~ x x x x x ~

The next evening, shortly after dark, Maggie, Centauri and Ambassador Zadoranis stood on the empty dock staring out at the East River. Once they had fired up the tracking receiver they had quickly traced the intermittent signal to the mouth of the river. A quick scan had located the remains of the ship about fifty yards from the location of the beacon. Alex and Louis had dived down to where the scanner placed the remains. Bringing down the necessary recovery equipment greatly increased the chances of exposure so before they could begin the difficult and dangerous salvage operations they had to uncover the wreckage and verify that it was indeed the remains of a Gunstar.

They had been there for a couple of hours when Maggie shivered from the cool damp morning air. Ambassador Zadoranis sensed her _discomfort_ and enfolded her in his long warm cloak. She glanced up to thank him just as he became very alert and started scanning the shore. "Someone is watching us." He pulled his hood further forward to more effectively hide his face.

"Maybe we had better get out of here before someone report's to the local authorities." Centauri remarked as he too began looking around nervously.

"What about Alex and Louis?" Maggie asked.

Centauri took out his communicator. "Alex, Alex, are you there, Alex?"

"I'm here." Replied Alex's slightly distorted voice.

"Alex, we are being observed. We are going to take the ambassador back to the suite and return later." Centauri responded. "We will come back when you are ready for us to pick you up.

"That sounds like the best option. These remains are buried pretty deep and it will take a while to dig down to them." Alex replied. "I will contact you if I need you."

The three of them jumped into their vehicle and hurried back to the hotel room to wait for word from Alex and Louis.

After spending most of the night digging in the silt at the bottom of the river, Alex and Louis found only large chunks of melted slag buried there. They signaled Centauri who came to pick them up and returned them to the hotel suite to report what they had found.

"There was nothing left worth the danger of a recovery operation." Alex told them. "If you add the total amount of mass we detected down there with the amount of debris found where Your son and his mate disappeared, you have nearly enough to make up a complete Gunstar." Alex paused to consider the next step. "Tomorrow night we will go back and try to recover the beacon transmitter. We can hopefully positively identify the ship by the transmitter's serial number if it is readable. Even without that final proof, I'm pretty confident that that is your son's ship down there."

~ x x x x x ~

Early that morning Vincent and Catherine had gone below and were eating breakfast in the dining chamber before she headed off to work and Vincent began his Friday literature class. Vincent noticed Jamie and Mouse staring at him and acting strangely. Vincent called them over and, after a moment's hesitation, they reluctantly came over. As they approached Vincent sensed their _nervousness_ and _uncertainty_. He also noticed that they kept glancing at Catherine.

"Jamie, Mouse, you both seem to be bothered by something. What is it that has upset you two?"

They both again glanced nervously at Catherine then Mouse lowered his head and shuffled his feet. Jamie seemed to be trying to come up with the right words when Mouse blurted out. "Last night . . . Vincent at dock with girl." Then he lowered his head again.

Catherine stared at Mouse in surprise a moment then spoke. "You must be mistaken. Vincent was below with me last night."

Jamie finally spoke up as she stared at Vincent. "We both saw you. Mouse and I were scrounging at the East River Docks looking for . . . gizmos . . . when we spotted you standing on the dock with a dark haired woman and some man. Then you looked over in our direction and the three of you hurriedly left the docks."

Catherine and Vincent looked at each other a moment then Vincent responded. "This person that you say was me . . . What makes you so sure it was me?"

Jamie replied. "There wasn't a lot of light but I caught a glimpse of his face and I saw his hands pretty clearly when he pulled his hood forward." She shook her head. "But I would swear he looked just like you."

Mouse jumped in. "Saw face, saw hands, looked like Vincent." Then he seemed lost in deep concentration for a couple of seconds. He glanced up at Vincent looking confused. "But white, fur all white"

Jamie looked at Mouse in surprise. "White? . . . I didn't notice that but it was difficult to be sure of anything. The lighting on that dock was very poor."

Catherine was a bit worried now. "Jamie, I think we need to alert the helpers and everyone Below to keep an eye out around the dock area and the subways. You can tell them what to look for." She started to turn toward Vincent then stopped. "And Jamie, tell everyone to keep their distance. I don't want anyone getting anywhere near to this . . . person."

~ o ~

After Jamie and Mouse left Vincent turned to Catherine, his concern plainly evident in his eyes and through their bond. "Are you thinking it might be another vigilante like Jason?"

Catherine nodded grimly back. "That is exactly what I'm afraid of."

~ o ~

That morning at work Catherine told Joe of her suspicions. Joe told her that he would give her any help she needed to find the Vincent look-alike. At lunch with Joe and Sammy she told them that she was pregnant. Sammy squealed with delight then informed Catherine and Joe that she had just found out this morning that she was also pregnant. Joe just sat there stunned. His wife and his best employee were both pregnant at the same time.

Around dinnertime Joe and Sammy came over to the brownstone to talk to Catherine about the Vincent look-alike. Catherine, Vincent and Joe met with those that would be involved in the docks surveillance and gave them last minute instructions. Joe had agreed to keep the police out of it until the stranger and his intentions had been identified.

That night after the twins had been put to bed, Vincent noticed that Catherine was having difficulty getting her mind off of the unidentified person that Mouse and Jamie had seen. He started rubbing her shoulders to get her to relax. Then his ministrations started taking on a more intimate range until all other considerations were driven from her mind by their loving.

_**Continued in Part 2**_

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><p>'<strong>Beauty and the Beast'<strong> and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures.  
><strong>'<strong>**The Last Starfighter****' **and its characters are owned by Universal Pictures and Lorimar Film Entertainment.

No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	2. Chapter 2

**Castaway Found**  
><em><em>By Thomas Mc<em>**  
><strong>_

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<br>**

The next night Centauri, Maggie and the Ambassador were back on the dock. Alex and Louis were in the water trying to retrieve the beacon transmitter. The Ambassador had begun telling Maggie about his son as a young very active child and how he had joined the Legion and become a Starfighter. They had ended up discussing children in general and the trials of being a parent. Centauri had mostly just listened to the discussion. His only contribution to the discussion was his contention that children were more trouble than they were worth and he had no intention of ever having any.

After several hours Centauri announced that Louis had just surfaced. They all turned their attention to the water as Louis tossed an object into the boat. A second later Alex broke the surface and tossed the signal tracker and some digging tools into the boat. Then both young men climbed in and rowed the boat over to the dock where the others were waiting. The entire group immediately returned to Alex and Maggie's suite, unaware of the other small group of young people dressed in patched together clothing that had been watching them from a distance.

Once back at the hotel room Alex hauled the recovered beacon onto a hastily cleared table and began examining it. The beacon case was badly damaged but there was no doubt that it was from a Gunstar and the serial number was readable. Alex compared the serial number to a list of missing and destroyed ships and found that it had indeed come from the Ambassador's son's ship.

Though he had already accepted that it was his son's ship they had found, the final irrefutable verification hit Ambassador Zadoranis like a punch in the gut. He sat down heavily into the nearest chair and looked resignedly up at Alex. "So that is it, then." He looked back at the damaged case. "This is where my son and his mate finally ended up."

~ o ~

It was late Saturday morning and Catherine and Vincent were in their parlor playing with their one and a half year old twins when Jamie and Mouse came up through the basement tunnel entrance.

Jamie started taking excitedly as soon as she arrived. "They showed up at the docks again last night. There were five of them this time. Two of them went diving in the East River and brought up something about twice the size of a shoebox. The one that looked like Vincent kept his hood up most of the time but he got very excited when they brought up that box thing and his hood slipped. I was using the binoculars that Doctor Peter loaned me when his hood fell back so I got a good look at him. I swear he looked exactly like a white furred version of Vincent." She paused a moment then shrugged as she continued. "They left for the hotel as soon as the other two got back to the dock. We kept a good distance from them and were able to follow them to a hotel on the east side of the park. Geoffrey found out what room they are in and he is there now keeping an eye on the room."

Catherine's heart jumped at Jamie's words. Over their bond she felt Vincent's complicated emotional reaction as well. "I have to check this out." She went to the phone and made three calls. One call was to Jenny asking her to come over to watch the twins in case she and Vincent needed to go out for a while. The other two calls were to Isaac and Joe asking them to meet her in the lobby of the hotel that the strangers were staying at. She knew that she could count on those two to back her play regardless of what it was. What she had in mind was a bit heavy handed, but the answers to questions that had haunted Vincent all his life just might be within her grasp. It was time for bold action and she didn't want to waste a lot of precious, and possibly limited, time trying to be circumspect about this.

~ o ~

Alex, Maggie, Louis, Centauri and Ambassador Zadoranis were gathered in the common room of the suite discussing what to do next. Centauri had just downloaded the data from the beacon and was reporting what he had found.

"The data storage was nearly destroyed. I was however able to retrieve some data from it. There are indications that the emergency escape protocol and the self destruct were both activated from the navigator's pod. I could find no telemetry at all from the Starfighter's pod. Most of the telemetry from the navigation computer was also missing and what little information I could retrieve is hopelessly garbled which may explain how the ship ended up so far from home. From all indications it looks like Zoria at least was alive after the ship crashed." Centauri glanced sympathetically at the Ambassador. "I'm sorry but the data is not very encouraging about whether or not Zamiis survived."

Zadoranis seemed to shrink slightly at the less than positive report then shook his head as he spoke. "We have to find out for sure what happened to them."

Alex remarked sympathetically. "I'm sorry we couldn't find better news." He paused glancing at Centauri then back at Zadoranis who was straightening his shoulders as if forcing himself to face the realities. Alex continued, thinking rapidly as he spoke. "If we accept the possibility that one or both of them survived the crash, and the urban legend of the Creature of Central Park suggests that at least one **did** survive, we have to ask ourselves where have she or they been hiding all this time. The only thing we can be sure of is that it must be somewhere close to Central Park since that as where the reported sightings usually occur." Alex shook his head and looked helplessly at Zadoranis. "Even if they are still alive somewhere nearby I have no idea how we can go about finding them."

Zadoranis responded. "I **know** that at least one of them is alive. I told you about making momentary contact when we first arrived. I was able to catch a sense of one of them but it was very weak and I lost the contact before I could locate **whoever** it was."

Alex looked up as a thought hit him. "I forgot about that empathic ability your people have. Do you think you can use that to trace one of them?"

Zadoranis shook his head. "I don't think it would work. The emotional emanations of you humans are so much like those of my race that it will make it extremely difficult to discriminate between them. It would be like trying to locate one voice in the middle of a noisy crowd. That one contact that I did feel may have just been a fluke. It was so fleeting that I couldn't get anything definite from it." He shrugged his shoulders, looking down. "I will continue to try but I don't hold much hope for that approach." He seemed to become lost in thought.

Maggie spoke up at this point. "Maybe if we can't find them, we can get them to find us."

Alex looked at Maggie in surprised admiration. "That's it. You're right. If we could get some kind of message out that only they could understand with directions on where to find us then maybe we can get them to come to us."

Centauri jumped in. "Some ads and fliers. They could say something like . . . 'To the lost ones your father is here looking for you.' We could include the same message along with critical contact information in Cutahnian symbols in the decorative boarders."

Zadoranis looked around at the others with a glimmer of hope in his eyes then he glanced over toward the suite's entrance in surprise and reported in low warning tones. "There are other entities approaching."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Centauri and Zadoranis scrambled for one of the bedrooms and Alex went to the door. After a quick glance over his shoulder to verify that Centauri and Zadoranis were both out of sight, Alex opened the main entrance door. There was a very pretty woman standing there accompanied by two formidable looking men. "Yes?" Alex remarked curiously.

The woman and one of the men essentially barged their way into the room as the man flashed his identification at them while officiously announcing himself. "I am New York City District Attorney Joseph Maxwell."

The woman jumped in. "We are here to speak to you about your actions at the east river docks over the last two nights." The woman's eyes narrowed as she quickly scanned the interior of the suite. Her gaze came to rest on the closed bedroom door and her face took on a determined look as she rushed over to it. "Who is in this room?"

Alex shook off his surprise and took a step toward her in an attempt to stop her, insisting. "You cannot go in there."

Isaac stepped into the room, closing the door as Joe quickly stepped around Alex and moved up right behind Catherine effectively blocking Alex from approaching her. Maggie also took a step forward but was stopped by Louis' hand on her shoulder. Without as much as the slightest pause, Catherine opened the closed door and barged into the bedroom. Her own momentum carried her forward two more steps before she stopped and exclaimed. "**Oh my God**!" This brought Joe rushing into the room behind her.

Centauri and Zadoranis were both caught completely off guard when the Earth female suddenly barged into the room. Zadoranis clearly sensed _determination_ coming from the female which quickly turned to _surprise_, _amazement_ and _disbelief_. What surprised Zadoranis the most was that he could sense no fear or animosity from the female, but rather a strong growing streak of _recognition_ as she exclaimed to her god. The exclamation drew the male into the room and Zadoranis sensed an almost identical emotional reaction from him. Then the female blurted out. "**You're real!**"

The man that had come in behind her was staring at Zadoranis. "I don't believe it."

Both of the intruders seemed more surprised by his presence than by his appearance. After a few frozen moments Ambassador Zadoranis recovered his composure and spoke to strange female human. "~ Vcxlmd ~ ghijgns ~ odfhjd ~ smzm ~ fbdkv ~ !"

Catherine stared at the lion-man in confusion as he spoke in some kind of unintelligible gibberish. Though she had no idea what he had said, his voice sounded so much like Vincent that it sent a shiver down her spine. At that moment the man that had answered the front door barged through the bedroom door past her and Joe to take up a protective position between Catherine and the lion-man. Then the white haired lion-man came out with another string of gibberish.

Catherine shook her head. "What is he saying?"

Alex looked blankly at her a moment before it hit him. "Oh, I apologize but you barged in here and I forgot." He raised his voice just slightly. "Maggie, will you bring me that small blue cylinder from my suitcase." Then he turned his attention to Catherine. "The Ambassador was expressing surprise that you have apparently seen someone like him before."

Catherine caught the 'Ambassador' reference as she directed her response to Alex. "What makes him think that I have seen another like him?"

The lion-man responded with more of his gibberish as the dark haired woman called Maggie eased into the room carrying a small blue device that was about the size of a roll of quarters. Alex took the small device from her and spoke as he approached Catherine. "If you will permit me?" He gingerly placed it against her shirt collar as he told her what Ambassador Zadoranis had just said. "He remarked that your actions and your emotions tell him that you apparently were familiar with his appearance." There was a soft click sound and Alex took a step back from her leaving a silver and gray button about the size of a quarter attached to her collar.

Catherine's eyes grew wide as she stared at the lion-man. "Of course! You're sensing my emotions aren't you?"

Zadoranis nodded. "So you **have** met someone like me." He took a step forward. "You must tell me where I can find them."

Catherine again displayed surprise. "You know English?"

Joe glanced over at Catherine in surprise. "What?" He shook his head. "I only heard more gibberish."

Alex responded. "No he's still speaking his own language but you are hearing English through your translator button." He stepped toward Joe. "If you don't mind." He held up the blue device.

Joe barely nodded and Alex deposited one of the translator buttons on his collar as well.

Zadoranis spoke again. "I implore you, if you know where there are others like myself; please show me where they are."

Joe was surprised to hear English because he had been watching closely and noticed that the movement of the lion-man's mouth did not match the words he was now hearing.

Catherine responded. "Suppose I did see another like you, what do you want with him?"

Zadoranis noted her use of the male reference as well as detecting a strong sense of _protectiveness_ from the woman. "I think he may be my son." He felt her _shock_ and _surprise_ as the woman took a step back.

The man named Maxwell placed his hand on the woman's upper arm and appeared to be offering support to her as he spoke. "He does look just like him. Cathy, I think we should bring him with us. You know that Vincent is going to want to meet him so we might as well." He then looked uncertainly at Zadoranis. "If you are willing to come with us we can take you to the one you may be looking for."

Ambassador Zadoranis glanced over at Alex, Maggie and Louis standing fascinated at the bedroom door then back at the woman, now identified as Cathy. He disparately wanted to go with her but knew that it was unwise to just deliver himself into the hands of these alien strangers. After a moment's consideration he settled on a solution. "I will come with you but I must bring my personal escort with me." He indicated the three people standing at the doorway and Centauri who was standing beside him.

Joe glanced around then responded. "We can't put this many in my car."

Catherine barely paused a moment then she spoke to Ambassador Zadoranis. "Your escort could ride in Isaac's car. The rest of us can ride in the Joe's car."

Joe seemed to be lost in thought for a several seconds then addressed Zadoranis. "You said 'your son' just now, can you give us some idea how old your son would be?"

Zadoranis glanced over at Alex and shrugged. "I do not know how to convert the time frames."

Alex thought a moment then responded. "I think Zamiis age calculates out to about fifty-seven earth years."

Catherine shook her head. "That can't be Vincent. He's only thirty-five."

Alex looked over at the Ambassador, his eyes wide in surprise, as he responded. "Zamiis and Zoria disappeared approximately thirty-six earth years ago."

Zadoranis looked back at Alex just as surprised. "They had a child?" Then he faced the woman, Cathy. "I must see him immediately, please take me to him."

~ o ~

Vincent was watching from the rooftop garden when two vehicles pulled up in front of the brownstone. He knew from the bond that Catherine was returning home and her complex emotional state told him that she was _determined_, _uncertain_, _hopeful_, _excited_, _fearful_, and she was bringing home momentous news.

He watched as Catherine, Joe, and a third unknown person got out of Joe's car. Isaac and four unknown people got out of Isaac's van. As they reached the front door Vincent turned and headed down the stairs.

~ o ~

The fact that they had pulled up in front of a brownstone that was directly across the street from Central Park did not go unnoticed by all the members of the Ambassador's party. As they entered the brownstone, Alex, Maggie and Louis were immediately aware of the simple understated elegance of the place. Zadoranis and Centauri glanced around appraising the domicile they had entered. The place spoke of someone that lived well. Zadoranis opened his empathic sense and detected four individual entities in the floors above them. He also noticed that one of them had sensed his presence and was now very _curious_.

Catherine felt Vincent's _churning curiosity_ as she called out. "Vincent, I've brought home someone very interesting that wants to meet you."

Everyone's attention focused on the elegant spiral staircase as Vincent descended to the parlor. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and for several seconds Vincent and Zadoranis stood there staring at each other.

Vincent's emotions were as jumbled and conflicted as Catherine had ever felt them.

Finally Zadoranis spoke. "I would know you anywhere. I can see both of your parents in your face . . . and you definitely have your father's eyes."

Vincent's brows furrowed in confusion over the unintelligible gibberish that this elderly mirror of himself had produced. But the emotions Vincent had sensed coming from him had been as clear as a bell. He felt _surprise_, _amazement_, _recognition_ and an overriding _joy _mixed with_ old sorrow_.

Catherine recognized Vincent's _confusion_ and translated. "He just said that you look just like your parents and you have your father's eyes." Then she turned toward Alex. "Maybe you can give him one of those translator things."

Vincent watched warily as the strange man approached him and used some type of device that left a button the size of a quarter on his shirt collar. Vincent glanced around at all the strangers standing in his parlor. All but one of them radiated emotions of _surprise_ and _happiness_ with an aura of _self-satisfied achievement_. The one exception was the man that had hung back. His emotions felt strange, almost non-human. Vincent filed that impression away as he turned his attention back to his lookalike but he addressed his remark to Catherine. "How does he know my parents?"

"Your father was my son." The leonine stranger responded in perfect English.

At Vincent's surprised look Catherine explained. "That silver button on your collar is some kind of language translator. Apparently no matter what language someone else speaks, you hear it as English."

Vincent took a moment to think about what had been said then he responded. "Then you are saying that you are my grandfather?" He was having a hard time believing that the answers to all the questions, that had haunted him all his life, was now standing before him in the person of his biological grandfather.

Zadoranis replied. "It is the only logical explanation. My son and his mate were lost and crashed here at about the same time you were born and the resemblance between them and you is obvious. We also found the remains of their ship close to here." He glanced over at Alex then back at Vincent. "Once we get you back home where you belong, we can run the tests to prove your relationship."

Vincent glanced at Catherine, sensing her _surprise_ and _worry_, then addressed Zadoranis. "What do you mean by back home where I belong?"

"You are Cutahnian and my grandson and we must give you a proper family name." Zadoranis took a couple of steps toward Vincent. "You must come home to Cutahni with me where you can be with others of your kind and find a mate. Then you can begin building a family of your own and take your rightful place as my descendant."

Vincent glanced at Catherine who looked worriedly back at him. "Sir, though I am strongly tempted by the offer to see where I come from, there are things about me that you must understand and accept." Vincent placed his arm around Catherine's waist pulling her in close. "I already have a name and I already have a family. I have no intention of giving up either one of them."

For a moment Ambassador Zadoranis stared at Vincent and Catherine in shocked disbelief. Then he began to sputter. "This is totally unacceptable. It isn't done. You **must** mate with someone of your own kind and carry on the family line."

_ **Continued in Part 3**_

* * *

><p>'<strong>Beauty and the Beast'<strong> and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures.  
><strong>'<strong>**The Last Starfighter****' **and its characters are owned by Universal Pictures and Lorimar Film Entertainment.

No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	3. Chapter 3

**Castaway Found**  
><em><em>By Thomas Mc<em>**  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<br>**

For several seconds everyone in the room stared in shock at either Vincent or Ambassador Zadoranis as the words just spoken by both of them hung in the air between them. Finally Ambassador Zadoranis broke the stunned silence, his voice betraying his extreme agitation. "Zamiis was my only child and that makes you my only descendant which leaves you as the only one left to carry on the family leg . . . acy . . ." Zadoranis came to a shocked halt as he realized what he had just said. He had basically admitted out loud what he already knew; that Zamiis was gone.

Alex had also caught the implications of what he had just said and felt the need to say something. "Ambassador, we . . ."

Zadoranis held up his hand and sadly shook his head as he looked at Alex. "If my son or his mate were still alive then I think they would have already said something. He turned his attention to Vincent and Catherine. He could easily sense the _love_ between his grandson and the Earth female as well as her _stubborn determined defiance_. She would clearly fight to hang on to her relationship with his grandson. He shook his head sadly as he now addressed his comments directly to his grandson and the Earth female. "There has never been a successful mating between two different species. Besides the often incompatible cultures, such matings are inevitably infertile. There can never be offspring." He knew that for his grandson's own good, he had to put a stop to this doomed liaison.

Vincent sensed _resigned sadness_ from Zadoranis and the other visitors as they all accepted the truth in his statements.

Catherine glanced up into her lover's face and sensed his _love_ and _determination_. Then she faced Zadoranis a slight smile on her face as her other hand came to rest on her abdomen. "You may have to re-evaluate your opinion on that subject, Sir; . . . at least where Vincent and I are concerned." She was sure that if his attention was brought to it, he would be able to sense the new life growing within her just as Vincent had been able to. She also knew that that she had two more aces up her sleeve, or more precisely, waiting upstairs with her friend Jenny.

Ambassador Zadoranis was surprised by the Earth female's smile and the unreasonable _calm_ _confidence_ that he was now sensing from her. He was also aware of the sudden jump in _relaxed _and_ amused confidence_ that his grandson had begun to give off. It didn't make sense. What did his grandson realize that he hadn't figured out. Then the others in his party were radiating _shocked surprise_ and an instant later the placement of the Earth female's free hand registered on his awareness. A moment later Zadoranis was himself shocked to realize that the she was pregnant. His mind seemed to go numb as stunned silence again reigned in the parlor. After a couple of seconds his mind leaped to the only possible conclusion. "I can not allow you to mislead my grandson like that. Who is the father?"

Catherine snorted in surprise then her brows furrowed. "Vincent is the father."

Zadoranis shook his head in denial. "Impossible!"

Vincent responded. "Never-the-less it is true." He glanced down into Catherine's face and smiled. "The emotional link that we share makes it impossible for us to lie to each other."

Ambassador Zadoranis felt like all the air had suddenly gone out of the room and his legs threatened to give way beneath him. He dropped all his mental barriers and opened his mind then he was able to feel the bond like a glowing band between them. His grandson and that Earth female had formed the bond, permanently linking their souls together. The situation was spinning totally out of control and all he could see was terrible disaster for both of them when everything inevitably fell apart. "But how could this happen?"

Vincent responded. "As far as the bond is concerned, it is a mystery to us."

The physical tension and the emotional atmosphere in the room was thick enough to drown in. Vincent assumed that Zadoranis probably held a very influential position in his own world and was used to getting wanted, but here on Earth he was at a serious disadvantage as far as getting his way. Vincent was getting a bit worried that Zadoranis or one of the other guests might act precipitously and make the situation worse than it already was. Then Vincent felt a shift in Catherine's emotions. He knew from five years of loving her and by the shift in her emotions that Catherine was about to drop a verbal bombshell into the conversation to disrupt the heavy tension that filled the room, and he mentally tensed for the inevitable fallout.

Catherine, sensing that she might be winning this debate, knew that she had to break the tension before the ones losing the debate acted out of desperation and possibly turned this into dangerous physical battle. As long as she was going to do it, she couldn't resist throwing a little extra zing into the ploy to shatter the tension. With a shrug of her shoulders she dropped her little bombshell. "As far as my pregnancy is concerned, you throw in enough vigorous sex and the results are inevitable."

The ploy worked.

Vincent looked down at Catherine in surprise, his face turning bright red. He had expected something surprising and possibly shocking, but this was definitely more shocking than he had expected. It did however have the expected effect.

Zadoranis was again sputtering in shock and surprise at the Earth female's very brazen comment. The rather impressive head of steam that he was building toward trying to force the situation had been effectively disrupted, his thoughts scattered by the unexpected and shocking comment. With heroic effort he got his scattered wits back under control. He now realized that this Earth female was turning out to be a formidable and canny opponent in this debate. Finally he pronounced what he felt was certain doom to this cocky Earth female's desires. "Even if you have managed to become pregnant by my grandson, it will not be viable and will probably not even make it to full term."

Everyone in the room was so fixed on the ongoing discussion that they had not even been aware of the newest arrivals. Jenny had been listening from the stairway. She had heard enough to understand the gist of the situation and had made an educated guess as to what the lion-man might have been saying. She had decided that it was time for her to take a hand in the discussion. They were all caught by surprise when Jenny interrupted from the stairs. "The first two of their children seem to be doing just fine." All heads swiveled toward the stairs where Jenny was standing holding both of the twins by the hands. "Jacob, Jennifer, this is your great grandfather."

At the sight of the two children Zadoranis felt his legs go weak and took two shaky steps backward then collapsed into one of the large sofas that dominated the center of the parlor. There was no doubting the parentage of the two children. The boy was a dead ringer for Zamiis when he was a toddler but his eye and hair color could only have come from the Earth female. The girl looked totally human and definitely favored her mother put her intense blue eyes and sandy colored hair could only have come from his grandson. He stared in wonder as the new human female guided the two children toward him.

Zadoranis reached out hesitantly to touch the two children as though to assure himself that they were real.

Catherine stepped up to him, drawing his grandson with her. She placed her free hand on the boy's head. "Ambassador Zadoranis, may I present your great grandson, Jacob Chandler-Wells." She then moved her hand to the head of the girl. "And this is your great granddaughter Jennifer Chandler-Wells."

Vincent smiled sympathetically at his grandfather who had just had his beliefs, indeed his whole world, turned upside down. "As you can see, grandfather . . ." Vincent put the slightest emphasis on the 'grandfather' signifying his acceptance of their relationship. "I have everything I could possibly want right here." He placed one hand behind Catherine's back and the other on his daughters head. "I have a wonderful mate and two incredible children with a third one on its way." He waved his hand toward Joe, Isaac and Jenny. "I have many close friends." He swung his arm taking in the whole building. "And I have a beautiful home." He wrapped one arm around Catherine and drew both his children in with his other arm. "I have no desire to lose what I have here."

Catherine glanced up into Vincent's face then looked back at Zadoranis. "Might I suggest that you spend a few days with us, get to know us and see for yourself what your grandson's life is like. It will also give you a chance to get acquainted with your great grandchildren." She looked back up into Vincent's face. "And I know that Vincent wants to learn everything he can about his heritage . . . where he came from. It's been the one missing piece in his life that I could do nothing about."

Zadoranis looked up at this very formidable human female that his grandson had mated with. Despite her lack of fur, fangs and claws as well as the odd shape of her face she was still a fine looking female. "Are you are really inviting me to spend time with your family despite my wish to take your mate away from you?"

Catherine smiled and cocked her head slightly. "I'm inviting you to stay in our home. We have plenty of room and it will give you and Vincent more time together." She paused a moment. "What about your mate?"

Zadoranis continued to be surprised by this human female, first by her strength of spirit and now by her compassionate generosity. He could feel the honest sincerity in her emotions. Maybe Vincent . . . (for the first time he found himself thinking of his grandson by the human name they had given him) . . . maybe he had made a good choice in a mate after all. Her unswerving commitment to Vincent reminded him of his own mate. Now his thoughts shifted strongly to his own mate, Talfeena. She had been sensing his turbulent emotional storms and she was worried about him. He paused to project _reassurance_ and _happiness_ to her. "Talfeena is back home but I would like to bring her here to meet . . . Vincent and your family."

Catherine gave one quick nod. "Then it's settled. You're staying with us. Once you are settled in, we will show you how to get around the city without being seen and show you where Vincent grew up. We're both also looking forward to meeting your mate."

After spending a few minutes with the two children Zadoranis told Vincent and Catherine that he had to return to his hotel to call his mate and arrange for her trip to earth. Then he needed to pack his things to bring them back over. As he left the brownstone Zadoranis was amused to realize that he had begun to think of Catherine by her name rather than as that Earth female.

~ x x x x x ~

Zadoranis had returned to the hotel suite to retrieve his things and to put in a call to his mate. He had also brought back a DNA sample he had managed to surreptitiously acquire from each of the children and from Vincent and Catherine. Vincent had sensed that he had something up his sleeve at the time but was unable to realize what it was.

First he made a secured COM link call to a very close and trusted friend of his family that was also the head of the planetary College of Genetics back on Cutahni.

~ o ~

After a long wait . . .

~ o ~

His friend responded. "What can I do for you my old friend."

"I have a very special request that I want you to keep strictly confidential. I'm sending you two DNA samples and I want you to have them analyzed for any hidden genetic problems and for racial reproductive compatibility."

~ o ~

After a five minute wait . . .

~ o ~

The response came back. "I can do that for you but why the secrecy?"

Zadoranis practically held his breath as he dropped his bombshell. "Because they are hybrids."

~ o ~

Five minutes later . . .

~ o ~

"**What!**"

Zadoranis flinched at the volume of his response. "A Cutahnian has mated with an alien female and they have managed to produce two offspring with a third currently on the way." Even with this hyper light communications equipment that they had brought, the time delay was frustrating.

~ o ~

After a longer than five minute pause . . .

~ o ~

His friend spoke. "But that is not possible. The likelihood of alien races being even remotely compatible genetically is infinitesimal. The few times it has been accomplished, the results have been disastrous. That's why it is forbidden by every civilized race. If this is discovered the offspring will both be destroyed." Zadoranis could tell how shaken up his friend was by the tremors in his voice.

Zadoranis responded. "Impossible or not it has happened and the two offspring both appear to be perfectly healthy as well as physically and mentally unimpaired. I need to know just how viable they are. And it must be done quickly and quietly."

~ o ~

Again that long five minute wait . . .

~ o ~

"I understand but . . . why are you so interested in this?" His friend asked curiously.

"Because the Cutahnian is my grandson. He has been stranded on this planet since birth. He and the alien female have somehow become bonded." He paused to let his friend absorb these revelations then after several seconds he continued. "I am also sending you a two more sets of DNA from my grandson and the alien female. I want you to verify my grandson's relationship and I need to know if these offspring are a fluke or if our two races are truly genetically compatible."

He fed the genetic material into a general purpose analyzer that he had borrowed from Exploration Services. He transmitted the data to his friend, again reminding him to keep this totally confidential, for obvious reasons. His friend told him that he would have the analysis for him in about the equivalent of four hours. Zadoranis asked him to send the analysis results back with Talfeena then disconnected.

His next call was to his mate and was, by necessity, unsecured. Again there was a long wait but he was able to sense her _surprise_ and _happiness_ two minutes before she answered.

"Zadoranis, what has been happening to you? Your emotions have been so turbulent for the last few days, especially today."

"Talfeena, I want you to pack up for about ten days and come out here to this planet. Alex Rogan is going to make arrangements for someone from the Legion to come pick you up in the morning." He paused to take a breath. "I found out what happened to Zamiis & Zoria." He took another deep breath. "It appears that their ship was attacked and we think Zamiis was killed in the initial attack. Talfeena, it appears that Zoria survived and was still alive when their damaged ship crashed on this planet. We're not sure how long Zoria lived after the crash but, before she died, she gave birth to their son, our grandson. He is alive and I have met him. He wants to meet you." He knew there was so much more he should tell her but that was not wise on an unsecured communications link.

~ 0 ~

Two minutes later he felt her emotional reaction of _surprise_, _disbelief_ and finally _joy_ to his message.

~ o ~

Two minutes after that . . .

~ o ~

He knew that she would be coming to Earth well before her response came in over the communication equipment. "A grandson? We have a grandson? . . . I cannot believe it is true . . . I will be there. I can hardly wait to see him."

He told her he would be waiting and signed off. Zadoranis thought a moment. If he had guessed the time differential correctly then he figured that she would arrive on this planet some time just before dark tomorrow. He wondered how Talfeena would react when she learned about the rest of their grandson's family. She would certainly be very surprised and probably shocked by it. He just hoped that she would be able to handle the very unusual situation.

While Zadoranis was packing up his stuff, Alex contacted Legion Headquarters and made the necessary arrangements for Talfeena to be brought to Earth.

~ o ~

Catherine glanced over at Ambassador Zadoranis crawling on the floor, playing with her two children, and grinned. Her twins had a habit of conquering the affections of everyone that they came in contact with. Vincent came up behind her and put his arms around her in a warm loving hug. She could feel his _love_ like a soft blanket enveloping her. She savored the contact as she let her head fall back against his chest while she responded to his projected love with her own loving projection.

"I see Jacob and Jennifer have made another conquest." Vincent whispered quietly in her ear.

Zadoranis caught the edge of the exchange of emotions between Vincent and Catherine and glanced over at them. He was amused with himself. Her strength of spirit and her loving devotion to Vincent had won him over completely. He had even come to accept Vincent's distinctly un-Cutahnian name. It was probably just as well since Vincent wasn't about to change it.

Even though the unique family could not safely live openly on this planet, they would still be much safer living here. If he were to try taking them home it would put these two lovely children in mortal danger and even his own powerful position would probably not be enough to protect them. Right now the protected status of this planet was also **their** best protection. It also didn't hurt that they apparently had several friends in influential positions on this planet. He smiled and nodded to the couple then returned his attention to the two adorable children.

Soon it was the two children's bedtime and he got a kick out of helping to put them to bed. At their request for a bedtime story, Zadoranis told them a tale about Zamiis & Zoria. Shortly after that Zadoranis retired for the evening.

~ x x x x x ~

The next morning, right after breakfast, Joe brought Sammy by to meet Vincent's grandfather. Catherine gave Sammy one of the spare translator buttons that Alex had left her. They spent the next couple of hours talking about the relationship between Sammy and Vincent when she had been growing up in the tunnels. "He was always like my big brother, especially after my mother died. Everyone in the tunnels looks up to and respects Vincent as a leader and a mentor and a teacher."

Zadoranis perked up at this point. "Teacher?"

Sammy smiled. "Yes Vincent teaches several courses to the youngest children of the tunnels. They all love him. The first year that he started teaching, he also became my first teacher."

Zadoranis nodded. "I worked as a teacher in my youth and my parents and grandparents were all teachers." He smiled. "I suppose it must run in the genetics."

Sammy giggle at his phrasing. "Here on Earth we say 'it must run in the blood'. It's not quite as accurate as the way you said it."

Zadoranis chuckled. "It seems that every race has it's own peculiar and often inaccurate way of phrasing things. I often find that tracking down the origins of such phrases can be very interesting and in many cases can teach you a lot about the culture of that race." He paused and cocked his head. "I keep hearing mention of tunnels and Below."

Catherine jumped in. "That is where Vincent grew up. We are planning to take you there for a short visit after lunch and introduce you to some of the people from his childhood. Speaking of lunch, Sammy, it's nearly noon. Will you and Joe be staying for lunch?"

Sammy shook her head. "I'm afraid that we can't today. Joe and I are meeting his Sister's family at one. In fact we really need to get going pretty soon."

After Joe and Sammy left Catherine fixed a quick light lunch. After lunch, Catherine dressed the twins in warmer layered clothing. Once they were all ready Vincent and Catherine led Zadoranis through the secret door in the parlor. The twins apparently knew where they were going and became very excited. As they reached the utility tunnels beneath the street Catherine informed him that this was how Vincent got around town without being seen. Then they reached the spiral stairway and were soon heading down to the home tunnels.

Zadoranis wasn't to sure what to expect of this place they were heading to but he was very intrigued.

Catherine was thinking that the people in the tunnels were in for a big surprise.

_ **Continued in Part 4**_

* * *

><p>'<strong>Beauty and the Beast'<strong> and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures.  
><strong>'<strong>**The Last Starfighter****' **and its characters are owned by Universal Pictures and Lorimar Film Entertainment.

No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	4. Chapter 4

**Castaway Found**  
><em><em>By Thomas Mc<em>**  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4<br>**

The trip down to the home tunnels was a long walk for the young twins so the children took turns being carried by Vincent while the other child would be holding Catherine's hand. The little girl got more time being carried than the boy yet there was no arguing or competing for attention between them. They seemed to know automatically when the walking twin was getting tired and it was time to trade.

As they went progressively deeper Zadoranis became aware of a staccato tapping sound that became more pronounced the deeper they went. The tapping seemed to come in irregular groupings with short quiet intervals between them. After a few minutes the tapping became much more frenzied and there were fewer and shorter breaks between the irregular groups.

Vincent chuckled. "They know that we're coming and the speculation about you is running fast and furious."

They soon came to an impressive maze of tunnels that seemed to be riddled with side openings. Most of the openings were blocked off on the other side by old tapestries. Through some of the uncovered side openings he could see surprisingly comfortable looking small apartments carved out of the solid rock. There were people in many of the uncovered chambers that stared in surprise or amazement at Zadoranis as they passed. Some of them came out of the side chambers and fell into step behind Vincent and his party.

Soon Vincent led them into one of these side openings and Zadoranis found himself in a much larger two level chamber that looked like an untidy library. At the far side of the chamber an older human stood up behind a large desk and stared incredulously at Ambassador Zadoranis.

Vincent greeted the older man as they entered. "Hello Father. I brought a new friend down to show him where I grew up." He addressed Zadoranis. "Ambassador, I would like to introduce you to Jacob Wells. He took me in as an infant and raised me as his own son." Vincent glanced around at the growing number of tunnel dwellers that were openly gawking at Zadoranis and raised his voice. "I would like all of you to meet Ambassador Zadoranis from a planet called Cutahni. We have discovered that his son and his son's mate were my biological parents. I hope that all of you will make him welcome."

The chamber was immediately filled with the sound of everyone speaking at once. After a few seconds Father regained his composure and called the room to order announcing that everyone would get a chance to meet their new guest.

Vincent then spoke again. "Ambassador Zadoranis does not speak our language though he is able to understand what we are saying to him. Catherine and I are able to understand his language so we will be able to interpret what he is saying for you." He paused and glanced at Zadoranis. "If that is alright with you, Grandfather."

Zadoranis nodded his assent. "That would be fine with me, Vincent." He then put on his best diplomatic persona and warmly greeted the people assembled in the underground chamber.

With Vincent and Catherine's help as interpreter, Zadoranis met many of Vincent's tunnel friends and did his best to answer their questions. Several of them wanted to know if this meant that Vincent would be leaving them soon for his family's home.

Vincent placed his arm around Catherine as he answered their shared concern. "No, I won't be leaving. This is where I grew up; this is where my friends and family are; and this is where my heart is. I would like to visit my ancestor's home someday just to see the place where I come from, but New York is my home and this is where I plan to stay." He glanced over at Zadoranis who smiled back and nodded his understanding and acceptance of Vincent's decision.

Zadoranis was actually glad that Vincent wanted to stay on this planet. He honestly believed that Vincent and his family would be safer here. This was especially true for his hybrid children. He vowed to himself that once he returned to the Star League, he would see if he could get the prohibition against cross specie mating modified in order to allow such pairings if the offspring were shown to be both fully viable and fertile with both parent species. He knew that getting even as restrictive an exemption as that would still be a long uphill battle. The horror stories that had lead to the establishment of the prohibition would be difficult to overcome. The social and cultural problems would be another matter entirely.

After a little over an hour Vincent called a halt. "I know that all of you would like to spend more time with Ambassador Zadoranis, and hopefully he will be able to spend more time below with us later, but for now he has to be back 'Above' in a few hours to meet my grandmother when she arrives. Before we have to go back 'above' I would like to show my grandfather around the home tunnels."

There was a general murmur of understanding and acceptance from the crowd. Mary stepped forward and took possession of the twins. "I'll watch over Jacob and Jennifer while you show your grandfather around." She smiled and nodded to Zadoranis. "It has been a pleasure meeting you."

The twins were apparently quite pleased with the suggestion. They enjoyed spending time with the rest of the tunnel children. They eagerly followed Mary out of the chamber.

Vincent took Zadoranis first to show him the chamber where he had spent most of his life and was still often used by him and Catherine as a weekend getaway. Then Vincent took him to the painted tunnels. They spent over an hour examining Elizabeth's paintings and relating the stories behind them. The next stop was the children's dormitories where the many orphaned street kids, that the community took in, slept and played until they were old enough to have a chamber of their own.

Soon it was time to go back above. They retrieved the twins and headed back to the brownstone. Shortly after they got home, Alex and Maggie come by to pick Zadoranis up. Just after dark they drove over to an isolated section of the park where they met the small transport ship that was bringing in the ambassador's mate, Talfeena.

After a quick happy reunion they headed back to Alex's hotel. Zadoranis knew that he would have a lot of explaining to do before he introduced Talfeena to their grandson and his family. As soon as they arrived at the hotel room Talfeena handed him a package that had been given to her for Zadoranis. She had no idea what it was but the official seal on it told her that it was very important and very confidential. She was also very aware of her mate's important position in the government. So despite being anxious to see this grandson he had mentioned, she waited patiently while dealt with whatever was in the package. The others meanwhile were unobtrusively making themselves scarce.

Zadoranis opened the package and scanned through the content's. From his emotions Talfeena knew that he was both _surprised_ and then deeply _contemplative_ as he scanned the contents. By the time he finished his emotions had shifted to _acceptance_ and finally a bit of _satifaction_. After a short time he put away the documents and turned his attention to Talfeena.

Zadoranis began by explaining to Talfeena what they knew and guessed about how Vincent came to be born on this planet. She listened intently absorbing all the information that he gave her. Finally he started telling her about what happened after he was found.

"We are still unsure how he ended up where he was found or if Zoria is still alive. All we're sure of is that he was found just hours after his birth. The people that found and raised him are a very reclusive group and were able to keep him hidden from the less tolerant while he grew up. They named him Vincent."

Talfeena made a face. "Such a strange sounding name, not at all Cutahnian." She shook her head. "Once we bring him home we can give him a proper **Cutahnian** name." She immediately looked hard at her mate's face as she felt his emotional reaction to what she had said. There must be much more to this than he had yet told her.

Zadoranis sighed. Talfeena was a perfect microcosm of what he would soon have to face if he was going to try to alter the perceptions of the people of the League. "Vincent was born on this planet and raised in the culture of these people. He has a home and a life here and he does not want to leave."

"But what about family?" She asked confused.

"There is much you don't know yet about his situation. He has already taken a mate and they seem to be very happy together."

She frowned. "But I thought there were no other Cutahnian on this planet."

"There are only three of us; you, me and Vincent."

She became _puzzled_ as she stared back at her mate trying to make sense of his comments. Then her eyes grew wide in _surprise_ and _shock_ then elements of _disgust_ and even a hint of _horror_ crept in. "That's terrible. We have to do something. What if the authorities find out?" She grabbed his arms imploringly. "What are we going to do?"

"Talfeena, calm yourself. To begin with, the authorities can't touch him here. This is a protected planet and they are forbidden to interfere with the inhabitants of this planet." He gazed earnestly into her eyes. "I don't think there is much that we can do about it anyway. He has made his choice and on top of that they have bonded."

"**What!**" She was beginning to feel overwhelmed. It was not possible. "How could a Cutahnian bond with another race? I can't believe it."

"Believability is irrelevant. The simple fact is, the bond is real and I can sense it. It is also very strong; stronger even than the bond we share." His expression softened a bit as he got a good grip on her upper arms. "There is more to it than the strength of their bond. They also have produced two children and they have a third on the way."

For several moments she just stared back at him. Her mouth moved but nothing came out as dozens of old horror stories played through her mind. She had gone from the high of learning that she had a grandson to the low of seeing her hopes collapse into rubble around her. How could this happen? How could everything go so wrong? Despite the horror of it she reluctantly found her mind going to the two offspring of the ill-fated union. Even if they survived and were healthy, they still were doomed to empty sterile lives.

Zadoranis pulled her into his embrace as he felt her swirling emotions begin to overwhelm her. He was relieved that mixed in with the powerful feelings of _shock_ and _horror_ there was also strong streak of _sympathy_. He suspected where the sympathy was directed and it gave him hope that maybe there was the possibility of bringing her around after all. He led her over and set her down on one of the common room chairs. Then he picked up the package that he had been looking through earlier.

"There is even more to this situation than either of us might have expected." He held up the package. "This is a report that my friend at the College of Genetics did for me."

He noticed the _surprise_, _curiosity_ and _fear_ in her at the mention of that particular branch of the government. She was wondering how much worse this was going to get.

He braced to deliver the final surprise. "I asked him to do an analysis of the genetics of everyone involved." He glanced at the first sheet. "To begin with Vincent is definitely the son of Zamiis and Zoria." He flipped to the next page. "The report shows that Cutahnian genetics and Human genetics are surprisingly compatible making both species fertile with the other."

She had listened to his report with _trepidation_ but little _surprise_. Most of what he had said so far was already apparent by the current circumstances that he had told her about.

Zadoranis took a deep breath as he flipped to the next page and prepared to deliver the real bombshell. "This third report is on the genetics of the two children. It states that both children are fully genetically compatible and fertile with both parent species as well as being compatible with others like themselves." He flipped to the last page. "My friend remarked that despite some very definite differences the genetics of the two species appear to be fully compatible. The exact physical results of some of these combinations may be difficult to predict but they will be fully viable." He looked up at her. "That is pretty straight forward."

She stared up at him incredulous. The last bit of information had gone against everything that was currently accepted about genetic compatibility. At this moment she was glad that she was sitting.

He gave her a short time to absorb what he had told her then he continued. "Vincent and his family have offered us the hospitality of their home while we are here." He took hold of her hand. "I would like for us to accept that invitation. I'm not telling you to forget your feelings about this situation. All I ask is that you come with me to their home and try to keep an open mind." He gently caressed the side of her face. "Do you think you can do that for me . . . and for the son of our only child?" He knew that last line was blatantly manipulative but a lifetime of ingrained beliefs and prejudices would be difficult to overcome and he really wanted her to try to give them a chance.

She looked up into his eyes and swallowed her personal discomfort then brought her hand up to her face and covered his hand. "I will go there with you, for the sake of our son and because you ask me to." Leaning on his support, she stood up and they embraced again.

After a couple of minutes Zadoranis raised his voice. "Alex Rogan, we need a ride over to Vincent's place."

Alex and Maggie came out of their bedroom. "At your service Ambassador." Alex responded.

As Alex and Maggie came into the common room of the suite Talfeena paid much closer attention to them than she had before. She noticed the obvious signs of affection between them as well as noting the emotional attachment. They may have looked odd to her but compared to many of the alien races that she had encountered because of her mate's job, they really weren't all that bad looking.

~ o ~

As they pulled up in front of the home of her grandson, Talfeena noticed the well kept front of the building and the beautiful view of Central Park directly across the street. Then the two of them made sure that their concealing hoods were pulled forward. After a quick glance to be sure that there was no one paying undue attention to them, Alex opened the car door and assisted them out. He and Maggie escorted Ambassador Zadoranis and Talfeena up the short steps to the front door.

As soon as they reached the door, it opened and there stood the Earth female that had taken her grandson. Talfeena tried very hard to hide how hard it was to look at her and ended up studying her features. Despite the unusual flat plainness of her face, she really was not bad looking. In fact there was a sort of self assured grace to her look and bearing that impressed Talfeena. She took note of the prominent scar next to the female's left ear and wondered with a shiver what it might signify. In fact the more she looked at the Earth female the more she thought that her features taken as a whole were actually fairly pleasant in appearance.

"Welcome to our home." The Earth female spoke then turned her full attention to Talfeena. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Talfeena had to admit that her greeting had been very gracious and though there was a fair layer of _uncertainty_ in the female's emotions she was generally _upbeat_ and _hopeful_. As they entered the home Talfeena spotted her grandson standing just out of line-of-sight from the open door. She was momentarily stunned.

One look left no doubt that he was the son of Zamiis and Zoria. As Catherine closed the door Vincent stepped forward. "Welcome to my home grandmother Talfeena." Her heart gave a small leap as he embraced her. "I am so happy to meet you." He stepped back and smiled at her.

She smiled timorously back. "I am happy to meet you to . . . grandson." She couldn't quite bring herself to speak the strange sounding name that they had given her grandson.

Vincent waved toward the sofa group in the center of the parlor. "Won't you come in and make yourself at home."

Talfeena glanced over where he had pointed and seeing his Earth female approaching the that spot, looked away. She found herself looking at the rest of the room. She was very impressed by the graceful spiral staircase and the elegantly simple lines of the furnishings. Everywhere she looked she saw evidence that her grandson lived well. Her own home though larger and very upper class was just barely in the same class as this place. Her eye was caught by the beauty of the stained glass windows that flanked the front door. There was something so Cutahnian about their design.

At Zadoranis' gentle nudge, they moved over to the sofas and sat down. As her grandson and his female sat down together in the shortest sofa she clearly felt the strong emanations of _love_ that they both gave off. Then she noticed the way there hands had sought each other out and clasped together almost on their own. She glanced down at her own hand which was now clasped by her mate's without her even thinking about it. She looked back at her grandson and his female. So different yet so similar.

After a few awkward moments Vincent began conversation by telling them a little about what his life had been like as a child. Talfeena found herself being drawn in by his words. Talfeena had soon realized that the brownstone was part of the female's world which had nothing to do with the world that Vincent was describing. Finally her curiosity got the better of her and she asked how Vincent and Catherine had meet.

Catherine described the day that she was attacked and left for dead in the park. The story reminded Talfeena of the scar she had noticed on the side of Catherine's face and she cringed at the point where Catherine got her face sliced up. Vincent took over and described finding her in the park and taking her to the tunnels to save her life. By the time Catherine took over to describe removing her bandages and getting her first sight of Vincent, Talfeena was on the verge of tears. "Oh you poor thing. That must have been terrible." Despite her feelings about the situation, Talfeena's sympathies had definitely swung strongly toward the Earth female.

Catherine looked back at her two guests with a small smile and radiating a _warm contentment_ that had Talfeena and Zadoranis very puzzled considering the subject. She glanced over at Vincent then responded. "It may sound crazy but I think of the day I was attacked as one of the best days of my life. That was the day I met Vincent and my life was forever changed for the better."

Vincent added. "Catherine even chose the third anniversary of the day of the attack for our wedding."

At about that point Jamie came down the stairs bringing the twins with her. The children immediately scampered over to their parents as Vincent and Catherine continued telling about their life together. At first Talfeena could barely bring herself to acknowledge the two children.

The children settled themselves next to their parents and Vincent asked Zadoranis and Talfeena to tell him about themselves, their family and their world. As Zadoranis and Talfeena began telling about their home and family, the twins soon shifted their interest from their parents to their great grandparents. Soon the twins gravitated over to Zadoranis and Talfeena and were quickly engrossed in their stories. It kept getting harder for Talfeena to ignore the twins and she began to notice how much Jacob resembled Zamiis as a young child. He even exhibited many of the same personality and emotional aspects that she remembered making Zamiis such a unique child. She also found her eyes being drawn to the brilliant blue eyes of the little girl.

Vincent eagerly absorbed everything that they told him about their home planet and about the Star League. He was particularly interested in every tidbit of information they could tell him about Zamiis and Zoria. After a while Talfeena began telling about Zamiis as a young child. She was really getting into her subject as she emphasizing his more unusual traits that had made him such a unique individual.

When Talfeena began talking about how Zamiis and Zoria first met, the little girl boldly climbed into Talfeena's lap as the boy took a position at her feet. Talfeena was a bit surprised when she sensed the empathic link between the twins. It was a fairly common phenomenon with Cutahni twins but she had not expected to find it between these two. She could also feel their _eager interest_ in what she was saying and her heart finally began to melt. They really were very sweet children. Her arm went around the little girl who snuggled happily into her embrace and soon many of her words were directed specifically toward the children as she told them about their grandparents.

Talfeena's reaction to the twins relieved a lot of the anxious tension that Vincent and Catherine had been feeling and made them very happy. Zadoranis was also pleased by this development. It gave him hope for both families.

Little by little Vincent built up a picture of what his parents were like from Talfeena's words. The one thing he found most gratifying was that he came from a family that had a lot to be proud of. He came from a long line of respected teachers; his grandfather was an ambassador in a grand league of worlds and his parents were decorated heroes and legends of the Star Legion.

Time passed quickly and soon it was time to put the twins to bed. Like Zadoranis, Talfeena enjoyed taking part in the twin's bedtime ritual. After the twins were put to bed Vincent lead them up to the rooftop garden and they talked some more about Earth culture versus Cutahni culture whil looking out over the park. An hour later everyone was beginning to feel tired and Catherine showed them to the front second floor guest room. Again Talfeena was impressed by the simple elegance of her grandson's home. She decided that despite the obvious problems he faced on this world, he really had a pretty good life here.

By the time they all went to bed that night Talfeena had fully accepted Vincent and his whole family. Though in a tiny act of rebelion she had secretly renamed her grandson Zavincent and her great grandson Zajacob in her own mind. She snuggled happily into Zadoranis' arms and wondered what new discoveries tomorrow would bring when 'Zavincent' and Catherine took them below to see where he grew up.

_ **Continued in Part 5**_

* * *

><p>'<strong>Beauty and the Beast'<strong> and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures.  
><strong>'<strong>**The Last Starfighter****' **and its characters are owned by Universal Pictures and Lorimar Film Entertainment.

No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


	5. Chapter 5

**Castaway Found**  
><em><em>By Thomas Mc<em>**  
><strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>Epilog<br>**

Joe and Catherine glanced surreptitiously at each other and tried not to let their amusement show. The family that they were interviewing while investigating a child pornography ring was Bulgarian and conversed among themselves in their native language. Unnoticed on Joe's and Catherine's lapels were little silver disks which meant that Joe and Catherine had already gleaned a lot of very useful information that the family thought had been secret. With the information the family had unwittingly divulged, Catherine figured that they would be able to wrap this case up very quickly.

On several occasions the translator buttons given to them by Alex rogan had proven invaluable when dealing with people that had tried to hide behind some foreign language.

Catherine and Joe finished up the interview as soon as they had what they needed. The members of the crooked family were happy, believing that they had put one over on their interrogators. By tomorrow they would learn differently.

Catherine got home earlier than normal and spent the extra time with baby Charles while waiting for Vincent and the twins to get home. She had some exciting and slightly scary news to pass on to Vincent. She had gotten word from Alex Rogan that Zadoranis and Talfeena were coming back to Earth for a visit in two weeks. The most important part of the message was that they were bringing the parent's and two brothers of Vincent's mother, Zoria, with them. The next two weeks would be very busy as she got ready for the visit.

~ x x x x x ~

Zadoranis was sitting in his office back on Rylos contemplating all that had happened over thr recent past. It had been nearly five Earth years since his and Talfeena's first visit to the planet Earth. Since that first visit Zadoranis and Talfeena had been back to Earth three more times. Since that first visit Zadoranis had been working tirelessly in secret behind the scenes on a very personal project. His final goal was to change the laws so that Vincent's descendants would be able to live and travel within the planets of the Star League.

His first action after his first visit to Earth had been to quietly introduce a few minor revisions to the rules regarding protected developing planets that would more securely insure the safety of Vincent's family on Earth. He had also began quietly sponsoring groups that were questioning the prohibitions against pairings between members of different alien races.

Also over the last five years Zadoranis and Talfeena had learned the English language well enough that they could converse without the use of the translators and made a point of only speaking English when they were visiting Earth.

Zadoranis was getting old and he knew that he would not live to see his projects come to fruition so he had enlisted a select group of co-conspirators into the project. His first recruit had been his friend in the Planetary College of Genetics. Soon after that he had taken the parents and two brothers of Zoria to Earth to introduce them to Vincent and his family after swearing them to secrecy. They had quickly fallen to the charm of Catherine and the twins as well as the new baby boy that they had named Charles. Talfeena called him Zacharleis. The family of Zoria also started to used those modified names after they heard Talfeena use them.

Vincent and Catherine knew about the Cutahnianizing of their family's names by Talfeena and Zoria's family and actually found it amusing. They just treated them like any other pet names.

Zadoranis and Talfeena had also brought Zoria's family with them on their most recent visit to Earth about a little over an Earth month ago. They had all been enchanted by the three rapidly growing children of Vincent and Catherine. But even more enchanting had been the celebration that they had all been privileged to attend. By a happy chance, their visit had coincided with a celebration peculiar to the underground community called Winterfest. All six of the Cutahnian visitors had been blown away by the spectacular setting and the magical quality of the festivities. The event had left an indelible mark on all of those in attendance.

~ x x x x x ~

Ambassador Zadoranis was back on Cutahni for a short visit on government business. He and his mate Talfeena settled into their parlor to watch the premiere of a new video show. It got Zadoranis to thinking about how many similarities there were between Cutahnian culture and Human culture. One thing they had in common was the concept of episodic video shows that were shown on a regular repeating schedule. The new show that was about to premier was to be the most visible result yet of the various efforts his conspiracy was involved in. The pilot episode and the show's bible had both been written by Zadoranis under an unrelated pen name and one of Zoria's brothers was one of the show's producers.

The story was about a Cutahnian child born and raised on an alien planet. It started with a pregnant Cutahnian female who's emergency escape capsule crashes on a small primitive alien planet. Just before she dies from her injuries she gives birth to a baby boy. The child is taken in by a very reclusive group and raised by them. The pilot episode would end with the grown Cutahnian male finding a badly injured female of the local race and saving her life. The title of the show was '**The Alien**' and it was basically a fictionalized account of the relationship between Vincent and Catherine. It was hoped that by the time the two main characters in the show finally became a couple, the audience would be rooting for them. This show and other efforts of the conspiracy were intended to shift the perceptions and sympathies of the general population.

It would take time but there was hope.

The show began and with Talfeena snuggled into his arms they quickly became engrossed in the show.

_ **The End**_

* * *

><p>'<strong>Beauty and the Beast'<strong> and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures.  
><strong>'<strong>**The Last Starfighter****' **and its characters are owned by Universal Pictures and Lorimar Film Entertainment.

No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.


End file.
